...Growing, Building, Cooking, Preserving, Crafting...

2006 began our urban homestead when I broke ground on a garden, which now includes perennial fruits, flowers, & many vegetable varieties. We dream of solar panels, keeping bees and hens. Until then we'll continue growing and preserving our own fruits and vegetables, building what we can for our home, cooking from scratch, and crafting most days.

5.10.2012

A Stroll Through the Spring Garden

A skinny, but strong asparagus stalk

V and I started the week with a rainy walk through our spring garden to see what's popping up. I was overjoyed to see that my second attempt at growing asparagus is going well. The last set of crowns collapsed the first season they would have been ready to harvest. These skinny, but strong stalks are amazing as they can literally grow inches in a day. It's been fun for Vera to keep her eyes on them. Kids don't have as much patience for progress as adults might so this is the perfect experiment.

Mesclun mix (L), India Tendergreen Mustard (R)

Lush Herbs: Lemon Balm, Oregano, Cilantro,
and Lemon Thyme

V's Peas will be ready to trellis soon

Garlic along the fence (looks like one stepped
out of line)

Very strong Swiss Chard that overwintered

Strong, happy rhubarb

Gave up growing any annual veggies in this raised
bed, trying perennial fruits. The blackberries did
very well out front last year so I planted three more
bushes here.

I also tried my hand at making some "raw bagels" this week. The recipe I found called for sprouted kamut flour. This ancient grain is a type of wheat, but from what I've found, it happens to be fairly low in gluten. (Perhaps this could be applied to my theory that gluten intolerances have grown in popularity because of how our domestic, hybridized wheat is processed. These older varieties of wheat might be less offensive.) Since I don't actually have Celiac disease, I thought I would give kamut a chance since it was highly recommended in the recipe because of the "chewiness" it gives to make these bagels seem somewhat like regular baked bagels. So far it hasn't disagreed with me too terribly.

Shaped and ready to dehydrate

Into the dehydrator you go

After the first round of dehydrating. Next we cut, then dry some more.

I will let you follow the recipe online if interested. And here is another link to explore if you're interested. I did, however, have to add the suggested additional flax meal (and also a bit of coconut flour) to the first recipe so it wasn't so sticky.) I'll leave those choices up to you, if you venture down the raw bagel path. It was the first time I had used my dehydrator for "cooking." I love the flavor and texture of these little "biscuits," as Vera calls them. I chose to dip them in a combo of poppy seeds, extra coarse kosher salt, and garlic sesame seeds, which really upped the yum factor.

The "everything" bagel

Still finding bits and pieces of time to sew. Last weekend there was an epic nap on Vera's part, which allowed me to finish another sundress for her on an otherwise dreary day. This one I made from a random thrifted pillowcase. It's not the standard "pillowcase dress." I actually laid out pattern pieces and treated it as a piece of fabric versus the quick-sew method using the case mostly in tact as one would with the more traditional method to which I've linked. I love the checker pattern of this material, which throws me back to the 80s. Just need a pair of of kid-size Vans or, better yet, jelly shoes and we're set!

From Pillowcase to Sundress for about $1 in materials

Looking forward to a lovely weekend getting more seeds into the garden. Hoping to plant beans and maybe some cucumbers/summer squash. Enjoy your day whether you're celebrating Mother's Day or not.

Do you have any ideas for pea trellises? My peas are about the same size as V's and will need some support fairly soon. I tried long sticks last year (very cost-efficient), but they left a little too much to be desired :) Also, will you need to thin your mesclun mix at all?